Semiconductor memory is widely used in various electronic devices such as cellular telephones, digital cameras, personal digital assistants, medical electronics, mobile computing devices, and non-mobile computing devices. Semiconductor memory may comprise non-volatile memory or volatile memory. A non-volatile memory allows information to be stored and retained even when the non-volatile memory is not connected to a source of power (e.g., a battery). Examples of non-volatile memory include flash memory (e.g., NAND-type and NOR-type flash memory) and Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM).
A data storage device that includes semiconductor memory may be in communication with a host system through an interface. In some cases, more than one data storage device may be in communication with a host system through one or more interfaces. Various standardized interfaces may be used for communication between components including data storage devices and a host system, including Peripheral Component Interface (PCI), PCI express (PCIe), Serial ATA (SATA), Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface Specification (NVMHCIS) or NVM Express (NVMe), and other interfaces.
A data storage device may include one or more control circuits that facilitate operation of semiconductor memory. For example, a data storage device may include a memory controller that executes code (e.g. firmware) to carry out operations directed to a non-volatile memory (e.g. access operations such as read and write operations). Such code may be loaded into a Random Access Memory (RAM) coupled to the memory controller for execution.